Filling heads for bottle-filling machines



1957 I I D. P. 5. FOX ET AL 2, 3,

FILLING HEADS FOR BOTTLE -FILLING MACHINES Filer Sept. 13, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet l Nov. 19, 1957 D. P. s. FOX ET AL- 2,813,555

FILLJ ING HEADS FOR BQTTLE-FILLING MACHINES Filed se'pt. 13, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 lillwl l 28 Q 282 252 V \k y 39 7 as .94 V 14 371 W fig .4. mvsm es I DOUGLAS-RS. Fox

' 3 WILLIAM AucLHRKE ATTARNEYS Nov. 19, 1957 D, FOX ET AL. 2,813,555

FILLING HEADS FOR BOTTLE-FILLING MACHINES Filed Sept. 13, 1955 5 Sheets- Sheet 3 Fa 34 r55 IE s q l ;i my ==-H 26 I 2 1 fly. 6'. I

INVENTofas I IbbuaLAs'Ps. Fm! 39 Wu.|.mm A.LmRm-:

Jam, 1394, aw? 22M ATT RNEYS Nov. 19, 1957 Fox ETAL 2,813,555

FILLING HEADS FOR BOTTLE-FILLING MACHINES Filed Sept. 13, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 I L. I v 221 as Q; g 2.9 10 2,9 10 g 22 22 2 g 261 TB 281 14 2 2 II A" 16 17 INVENTOR 'Dousuas P-S' FOX B wiLLinm ILQLBRKE WM, MMQM vydfnu ATTORNEYS Nov. 19, 1957 D. P. s. FOX ETAL 2,813,555

FILLING HEADS FOR BOTTLE-FILLING MACHINES FileclSept. 13, 1955 l 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 mu, M, Hwy-32%;

ATTORNEYS United States Patent FILLING HEADS FOR BOTTLE-FILLING MACHINES Douglas P. 5. Fox, Shenfield, and William A. Clarke, Hutton, England Application September 13, 1955, Serial No. 534,110

Claims priority, application Great Britain September 24, 1954 Claims. (Cl. 141-305) The invention has reference to bottle-filling machines using the counterpressure method, being concerned with the filling-heads by which valve-controlled connections are established between the empty bottles and the pressurised supplies of counter-pressure fluid and the liquid with which the bottles are to be filled. More particularly, the invention relates to machines of the rotary table type in which the aforesaid filling-head connections are controlled by a rotary plug valve which is arranged to operate in step by step partial rotations as actuated by suitable automatic trip-mechanism encountered during the rotation of the machine table, the successive positions of the valve at different stages determining the particular connections necessary for the operation of the apparatus.

The object of the present invention is to provide in a machine of such type certain improvements in the constructional arrangement of the filling head, which will possess the advantages that it will serve to fill two bottles simultaneously, that it is of simpler form and manner of operation than hitherto and that it is capable of use with out structural modification irrespective of the bottling pressure employed.

According to the invention, a filling-head for a bottlefilling machine of the type referred to comprises a single rotary plug valve having connection with a counterpressure fluid supply, a pair of filling-tube assemblies spaced apart according to the gauge of the bottle lifts and adapted for reception of two bottles simultaneously, whether on a common lift or on individual lifts, a bottling liquid admission valve at the base of each filling-tube as sembly, connections between each filling-tube and the bottling liquid reservoir, connections between said plug valve and said filling tube assemblies for a controlled flow of counter-pressure fluid to and from the latter, and fluidpressure operated means for controlling the bottling liquid admission valves.

A further feature of the invention consists in the use of a conventional pear valve for regulating the admission of the bottling liquid to the bottle in combination with an arrangement whereby said valve is subjected to a substantially constant load at all bottling pressures, whereby it is rendered possible to use the same filling head for high and low bottling pressures without modification of the valve-loading means.

Still another feature of the invention resides in the provision of means whereby at the appropriate stage the rotary plug valve automatically releases the safety valve conventionally provided in the counter-pressure system for the purpose of preventing loss of pressure should a bottle burst during the filling operation.

The rotary plug valve is preferably protected against direct shock due to operation of the trip mechanism by the use of an intermediate movement-transmitting member which, Whilst being flexibly connected to the plug valve, is mounted on the housing of the filling head.

The manner in which the invention may be carried into effect is hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the application of the invention to a rotary bottle-filling machine of the well-known type comprising a circular assembly of fillingheads arranged circumferentially about a rotating container for the liquid with which the bottles are to be filled, the bottles being fed to a corresponding assembly of lifting platforms which are automatically operated in turn to raise the bottles thereon into filling relationship with the filling-heads and, on completion of the filling operation, to lower them successively into a position in which the bottles can be removed for subsequent treatment. In said drawings Fig. 1 is a front elevation of one of the filling heads shown separately, and Fig. 2 is a partly sectional rear elevation of the upper part thereof. Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line III-III of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line lVlV of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a section on the line VV of Fig. 4, showing a bottle in the filling position, and Fig. 6 is a section on the line VIVI of Fig. 4. Figs. 7 to 10 are diagrams respectively illustrating the several stages of the cycle of operations.

-It will be seen from the drawings that the filling head is of duplex form, conveniently for use in conjunction with a lifting-jack having a pair of bottle-supporting platforms disposed side by side and arranged to be raised and lowered together as a unit, the arrangement being such that two bottles may be filled simultaneously through individual filling valves governed by a common control valve. The head comprises a housing 10 which is bored at 11, 12, 13 to accommodate a rotary plug valve 14, the spindle 141 of which projects axially from the bore 13 through the upper part of the housing 10 and carries on a squared part 142 thereof a star wheel 15, which wheel is adapted to be operated intermittently by successive engagement with suitably located tripping members constituted by stationary stops (not shown) against which the arms 151 of the star wheel impinge as the table rotates past them. The star wheel 15 is retained in position on the valve spindle 142 by means of a cap nut 16 which is screwed upon a threaded extension of the latter. In order to afford the maximum protection for the valve member 14 against shock due to impingement with the tripping stops, the star wheel is preferably made a loose fit on the part 142 of the spindle 14, and it is provided with a skirt portion 152 which fits closely upon a machined cylindrical extension 101 of the housing 10, the arrangement being such that shocks are transmitted to the housing rather than to the valve member.

The valve housing 10 is provided on its inwardly facing side with two bored ports 17 and 13 which are adapted for connection respectively by pipes 19 and 20 to a compressed-air system for supplying counter-pressure, and to the pressurized supply of the bottling liquid. The bore 11 of the housing 10 forms a chamber 111 beneath the plug valve 14, and the counterpressure air inlet port 17 communicates directly with said chamber 111 (Fig. 3), said port being controlled by a loose ball-type safety valve 21 which will close automatically upon its seating surrounding the junction of the port 17 with the chamber 111 so as to prevent loss of counterpressure in the event of a bottle bursting during the filling operation. A peg or like projection 143 formed on the side of the valve 14 is arranged to hold the ball 21 off its seating in the circumstances hereinafter referred to.

The valve housing It? is also extended laterally in opposite directions to form enlargements N12, 103 respectively enclosing two vertical cylinders 22 the inter-spacing of the vertical axes whereof corresponds with that of the pair of bottles upon the twin platforms of the lifting-jack. The constructional arrangement of the filling mechanisms is the same for both bottles and a description of one of them will suflice.

Each enlargement 102, 103 of the housing 10 is bored vertically, i. e. co-axially with the cylinder 22, as indicated at 23, 24'to provide a housing for the members hereinafter referred to, and at its base it is provided with a plug-member 25 which is secured in position by a nut 251 and bored axially at 252. From the member 25 there s suspended a downwardly extended filling tube 26 which 1s of a length such that it will reach nearly to the bottom of a bottle to be filled and which will pass through the neck of the bottle when the latter is raised to the filling position (Fig. 5). The ends of said tube 26 is closed by a conventional pear-valve 27 which is connected by a fine axially-disposed rod 28 to a guide-member 281, the upper side of which may abut against the underside of a piston 29 located in the cylinder 22, the arrangement being such that when the piston 29 occupies an upper position (in which it is normally maintained by a spring 30 compressed between the member 25 and a collar 232 fixed to the rod 28), the pear-valve 27 is held closed on its seating at the mouth of the filling tube 25. The upper part 221 of the cylinder 22 communicates with the bore 12 of the plug-valve housing 1 0 by an inclined passage 31 (Fig. 2).

Slidable on the tube 26 is a COIIfiCiOI cone assembly comprising a "sleeve 32 at the lower extremity of which is a member 321 of inverted conical shape, having a flared mouth co-axial with the tube 26 and so arranged that the open neck of a bottle presented to said member 321 on the upward stroke of the jack is automatically centered in the correct filling position, as shown in Fig. 5. As the filling tube 26 passes into the bottle when the latter is raised to the position of Fig. 5, the sleeve 32 slides upwardly until, at the upward limit of its movement, a Washer 322 on said sleeve makes sealing contact with an annulus 253 projecting downwardly from the plug member 25. In this position a duct 33 (termed the counterpressure air admission duct), which leads from the plug valve bore 12 (Fig. 4) through the side of the housing 10 and passages 34 and 341 (Fig. 6) to an annular gap 35 (Fig. 5) between the sleeve 32 and the outer wall of the tube 26, is opened to establish connection between the counter-pressure supply pipe 19 and the interior of the bottle.

A further passage 36 in the housing 10 connects the bottling liquid supply inlet port 18 with the bore 24 above the top of the filling tube 26 whereby, when the pear-valve 27 is opened, the bottling liquid may flow into the bottle. The tube 26 is thus constantly maintained full of liquid.

The rotary plug valve 14 is provided with a transfer port 37 capable of connecting the chamber 111 with the mouth of the counter-pressure air admission duct 33, an extension 371 of said port 37 by which said chamber 111 may, in a different position of the valve 14, be connected to the mouth of the passage 31. A radial port 33 in said valve may, in still another position of the valve 14, make connection between the passage 31 and an axial port 39 which leads to an outlet 40 in the cap nut 16 at the top of the valve spindle 142.

The operation of the apparatus may be more clearly understood by reference to Figs. 7 to 10. It should be understood however that these figures are purely diagrammatic, in that for greater clarity the filling-head and valve are depicted as though arranged for use in connection with a single bottle, the counter-pressure and bottling liquid inlets 17 and 18 being shown at opposite sides of the apparatus, and as though both said inlets 17, 18 and the passage 31 and duct 33 were co-planar, whereas in the actual apparatus illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6, there are of course means for filling two bottles simultaneously through separate filling heads controlled by the same rotary plug valve, and the inlets 17, 18 are located in a plane at right angles to the plane containing the passage 31.

Referring therefore to Figs. 7 to 10, it will be seen that a cycle of operations includes four successive stages.

4 In the first stage (Fig, 7), before the bottle has been raised to the filling station, the plug valve 14 occupies a position in which the passage 31 and duct 33 are closed, and the pear-valve 27 is held closed by the upward pressure of the spring 30 upon the collar 282 of the rod 28.

At the second stage, when the bottle reaches the filling station (Fig. 8), the star wheel 15 is tripped for the first time to turn the plug valve 14 to bring the duct 33 into communication with the chamber 111 and the counterpressure inlet port 17 through the transfer port 37, so that counter-pressure air is admitted to the bottle, through the duct 33, the passage 34 and the annular gap 35. At this stage the ball-valve 21 is held off its seating by the projection 143 on the valve 14.

When the requisite counter-pressure has been established in the bottle, actuation of the star wheel 15 for the second time turns the plug valve 14 to the third stage shown in Fig. 9 in which, whilst bottle counter-pressure is maintained through the chamber 111, transfer port 37 and duct 33, counter-pressure air is also admitted from the transfer port 37 through the extension 371 thereof and the passage 31 to the chamber 221 above the piston 29. Since the load on said piston 23 exceeds the upward force of the spring 30, the piston 29 is forced downwardly, pushing the guide-member 281 and rod 28 with it so as to open the pear-valve 27, permitting bottling liquid (which as aforementioned is always present at full bottling pressure in the filling tube 26) to enter the bottle. The counter-pressure air displaced from the bottle returns to the counter-pressure supply pipe 19 in the reverse direction through the annular gap 35, the passage 34, the duct 33, the chamber 111 and the port 17, past the safety valve 21.

During the filling operation at the third stage the chamber 221 remains in communication with the counterpressure system, so that the ball valve 21 is pressed upon its seat and the chamber 221 is vented to atmosphere and the pear-valve 27 is permitted to close in the event of a bottle bursting at this stage. It will be noted that during this stage the projection 143 has turned away from the ball-valve 21, which is thus free to close upon its seat to seal the counter-pressure inlet, and so prevent loss of counter-pressure 'air, in the event of a bottle bursting.

At the fourth stage (Fig. 10), the bottle having been filled, the star-wheel 15 is tripped for the third time to return the plug valve 14 to the position which is occupied during the second stage. The radial port 38 and the axial port 39 now establish communication between the passage 31 and the outlet 40, so that the chamber 221 is connected to atmosphere and, the downward pressure on the piston 29 being released, the spring 30 is free to raise the rod 28 to close the pear-valve 27.

At the next actuation of the star-wheel 15 the plug valve 14 is returned to its initial all ports closed position of the first stage, and the filled bottle is lowered preparatory to its replacement by a fresh empty bottle at the commencement of the next cycle of operations.

The arrangement whereby the air pressure employed to actuate the pear-valve control piston 29 is the same as that within the bottle relieving the pear-valve 27 of undue loading by which damage might be caused to its seating at the base of the filling tube 26, and the filling head is adapted for use whatever the bottling pressure.

It will be understood that the twin filling head apparatus hereindescribed. may be used without modification in a machine having individual single-bottle lifts, assuming that these are spaced at the same gauge.

What we claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In or for a bottle-filling machine of the type referred to, a filling-head comprising a single rotary plug valve having connections with a counter-pressure fluid supply, a pair of filling-tube assemblies spaced apart according to the gauge of the bottle lifts and adapted for reception of two bottles simultaneously, a bottling liquid admission valve at the foot of each filling-tube assembly, connections between each filling-tube and the bottling liquid reservoir, connections between said plug valve and said filling-tube assemblies for a controlled flow of counter-pressure fluid to and from the latter, and fluid pressure operated means for controlling the bottling liquid admission valves.

2. A filling-head as claimed in the preceding claim, wherein each bottling liquid admission valve is a pear valve associated with fluid-pressure operating means arranged in such manner that the pear-valve is subjected to a substantially constant sealing load irrespective of the bottling liquid pressure.

3. A filling-head as claimed in claim 1, comprising an automatic check valve effective to prevent loss of counter-pressure in burst-bottle conditions, and wherein the rotary valve comprises means whereby when it is set to admit counter-pressure fluid to the bottles, said check valve is temporarily held unseated.

4. A filling-head as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fluid-pressure circuit by which the bottling liquid admission valves are operated is vented to atmosphere through the counter-pressure supply system in the event of a bottle bursting during the filling operation.

5. A filling-head as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bottling liquid admission valve-operating arrangements are such that the filling tubes are maintained filled with bottling liquid under burst-bottle conditions.

6. In a filling-head as claimed in claim 1, an arrangement wherein movement of the plug valve is transmitted to the latter by an intermediate member flexibly connected thereto when said member is tripped at the several stages in the cycle of operations, any direct shocks received by said member are communicated to the housing of the filling head.

7. A filling-head as claimed in claim 1, comprising a. housing enclosing a plug valve and valve-spindle rotatable about a vertical axis, a star-wheel on an upward extension of the valve-spindle for tripping operation of the valve, 'an enlargement of said housing at each side of the valve, each such enlargement housing carrying the upper end of a filling-tube assembly and enclosing cylinder containing a fluid-pressure motor for actuating a pear-valve at the base of the filling-tube through a rod passing axially therethrough, a counter-pressure air admission duct between the valve housing and a point close to each filling-tube so as to be received by a corrector cone on the latter in the filling position and thereby communicated to the bottle, a passage between the valve housing and each fluid-pressure valve-operating motor cylinder, and ports in the plug valve whereby said ducts and passages are so controlled that at one stage all are closed, at a second stage said ducts are open to counter-pressure supply, at a third stage said ducts and passages are open to counter-pressure supply, and at a fourth stage said ducts and passages are open to atmosphere.

8. A filling-head as claimed in claim 7, wherein the fluid-pressure motor comprises a piston slidable in a cylinder and adapted to abut on its unpressurised side against the upper extremity of the pear-valve operating-rod, a compression spring being provided to move said rod to the closed position of the pear-valve except when said piston is operated to open the valve.

9. A filling-head as claimed in claim 7, comprising a bottling-liquid inlet with open connections. to the upper end of each filling-tube.

10. In or for a bottle-filling machine of the type referred to, a filling-head comprising a rotary valve having connections with a counter-pressure fluid supply, filling tube assembly adapted for reception of bottles, a bottling liquid admission valve at the foot of the filling-tube assembly, a connection between the filling-tube and a reservoir for bottling liquid, a connection between said rotary valve and said filling-tube assembly to supply a controlled flow of counter-pressure fluid to and from the latter, and fluid pressure operated means for controlling the bottling liquid admission valve.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 988,658 Pfafi et a1. Apr. 4, 1911 

